Down the memory Lane
by kk's lil chihuahua
Summary: The name says it. A Sano fic. Travelling into the past and back again. I starts when our fav ganster starts feeling a bit nostalgic. R&R plz


::Author's note:: Rurouni Kenshin characters belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki and other respectable people. I'm a lowly fan borrowing them. Pleas don't waste your time trying to sue me. I have multiple identities; besides I'm not worth it.

I felt like writing about Sano and his past so that's basically the thing.

Enjoy

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**Down the memory Lane**

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Trudging down the busy streets of Tokyo Sano headed for his usual source of comfort and food--the Kamiya dojo. Feeling dazed as if in a trance he walked through the crowd mechanically. It was the tenth anniversary of Captain Sagara Sozou's death. he did not drink or sleep last night. Nightmares, screams and blood was all the whirled in his mind.

As he walked on like a ghost the streets of Tokyo transformed into the lanes of Edo.

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He would not want him to be there. Sano was aware of that but he did not care. No one would bother with him. He just wanted to see Sagara-Taichou again. People dressed brightly walked the streets chattering about an execution of the traitors. They were all heading in the same direction. Sano followed.

Creeping through the mobilized crowd Sano saw a high platform with four black clad masked men. three had an axe in their hands and faced a chopped tree trunk. the other man held a scroll.

A speech was followed by the calling out of those familiar names. Charging the Seikihoutai against treason the name of the chief criminal and his surviving comrades was called out.

"Fujiwara Heisuke, Sazaki Iori, Kon Mayo and Sagara Souzou."

As the four comrades boldly mounted the platform, the crowd started jeering and cursing. Sagara searched the crowd and smiled not noticing Sano. Knowing their fate they rested their heads on the studs. The axes were raised. Sano's tearful eyes widened in bewilderment. The axes dropped and so did the heads onto the baskets present in front. In that second all his memories of the Seikihoutai flashed through his mind. The tears , the laughter, the jokes , the punches and Sagara-Taichou's leadership. The final memory was Sagara-Taichou's content smile when he pushed Sano into the river, away from him, away from the gunmen and into safety. Then all this was shattered. As the lifeless head dropped into the basket, a scared tear crept down Sano's cheek, fearful of making its presence known.

"Taichou..."

As the shocked child swam through the streets of joyful phantoms he thought of this shattered life. His family had probably died when the raiders came. They were near dead when he left them. Only a father, a sister and a brother. No mother. In that time he had joined the Seikihoutai hoping to stop the war, but was he successful? NO!

"Pap, Yuki, Outa, Mama, now Taichou. They are all gone. Away to some mysterious land. What now. WHAT NOW!!?? ANSWER ME WHAT NOW!!!!"

But no one answered nothing but the shrill harsh wind.

He slept in an alley that night. His childhood passed away, away like a beautiful dream.

Walking through the streets and dreaming of the past Sano wondered what he did next. He trained? Became a street fighter? Wasn't that later? He couldn't remember. That emptiness was back in him.

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"I should get drunk right now. Feh! Hell cares!"

He was closer to the dojo now.

"Oh! Ya! I met Goheh, who introduced me to"

He did not feel like thinking anymore. He was not sad, not angry, not regretful; just weary. Still entranced he saw the ever familiar gateway of the Kamiya dojo. As he opened the door a shout knocked him out of his trance.

Suddenly a sensation passed through him and smiling he entered.

"Hey Busu look who's here!"

"Don't call me that!" Growled Kaoru shaking her bokken threateningly at Yahiko.

Grinning Sano said,

"Cool it Yahiko-CHAN give Jo-chan a break."

"Don't call me -chan!!"

An enraged Yahiko furiously took out his anger by chewing on Sano's hair. Running forward with soapy hands Kenshin greeted Sano and tried to cool down the heated argument.

Tanuki VS Chicken

Brat VS Chicken

Busu VS Brat

Kenshin VS ??Everyone??

Suddenly everyone stopped at the great growling noise. (Sweat drops) Suddenly Yahiko burst out laughing. Only then did Sano realise that it was his empty stomach. Running towards the kitchen he called out to the flabbergasted Kaoru,

"Thanks for the food, Tanuki-onna!"

Stuffing it in his mouth Sano fled from the kitchen and started running around the dojo chased by a fuming Kaoru armed with her weapon of mass destruction (bokken, duh!). As a smiling Kenshin watched the scene and Yahiko cheered for the Chicken, Sano contemplated a lot of things.

---Taichou, I now realise that my life isn't shattered; my back might be if Jo-chan catches me. I have a family. These people, my friends were as lost as I. But pieces have fit together. I am not alone. All the pieces of this new jigsaw puzzle will stay together unless Jo-chan beats us up for not paying back debts. Thank You...---

As the Tanuki and the Chicken ran about in circles the sun shone upon the blissful picture of the noisy Kamiya Dojo.

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Plz review. Hope u liked it.

kk's lil chihuahua


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